Watch: Crowning and Chamfering a Gun Barrel

The crown is an vital part of any rifled gun barrel, whether it’s a rifle or a handgun. The crown is the point at which the rifling ends at the muzzle, which is the front end of the barrel.

All of the rifling is important to accuracy, because that’s what stabilizes the bullet in flight by putting some twist on it. But the crown is the one part of the rifling that’s most likely to be damaged (simply because it’s exposed).

The ends of the rifling need to be smooth and free of nicks and other irregularities, and the entire crown must be perpendicular to the gun’s bore. The video below will show you how you can make that happen, whether you’re repairing a damaged crown or crowning a barrel that’s been freshly shortened.

The crown in the photo above is from a rifle I overhauled years ago. When I shortened the barrel, I recessed the crown. This helps prevent it from being damaged.

Russ Chastain

Editor & Contributing Writer Russ Chastain is a lifelong hunter and shooter who has spent his life learning about hunting, shooting, guns, ammunition, gunsmithing, reloading, and bullet casting. He started toting his own gun in the woods at age nine and he's pursued deer with rifles since 1982, so his hunting knowledge has been growing for more than three and a half decades. His desire and ability to share this knowledge with others has also grown, and Russ has been professionally writing and editing original hunting & shooting content since 1998. Russ Chastain has a passion for sharing accurate, honest, interesting hunting & shooting knowledge and stories with people of all skill levels.